The blog for Lone Star linksters - news and notes from the world of Texas Golf.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

STPGA Scholarships Open for Application

Junior golfers looking for a little help with coming college bills should take a look at the Southern Texas PGA Foundation's 2009 scholarships. The STPGA Foundation has doled out more than $300,000 in scholarships since 1999, rewarding 136 deserving students. In 2009, at least 11 scholarships totaling nearly $30,000 are available. Some of those scholarships are described below. Students and parents wanting more information or an application form should visit the STPGA Web site and navigate to the Junior Golf and Scholarships page.

Applications must be submitted by April 1.

Here is a rundown of some of the STPGA scholarships available this year:

Three Tommy Aycock Scholarships, named after the late PGA Professional who won the STPGA Section Championship six times, will be presented in 2009. Valued at $1,000 each, the Tommy Aycock scholarships will be awarded to students residing in the seven-county area (Nueces, San Patricio, Aransas, Kleberg, Wells, Bee and Refugio counties) around which Aycock spent much of his career.

The Joe Finger Scholarship, valued at $2,500, was created in 2004 by the members of Riverhill Country Club in Kerrville, and Mark Caldwell, the club’s head golf professional. It is named in honor of the late golf course architect, Joe Finger— Riverhill is one of many course designed by Finger. The scholarship will be awarded to a resident of Kerr County.

The Byron Nelson Scholarship was created in 2004 by members of Riverhill Country Club— Mark Caldwell, Riverhill’s head golf professional, heads up fundraising efforts for the scholarship. The scholarship is named for the record-setting Hall of Fame professional golfer who teamed with Joe Finger to design Riverhill’s golf course. The scholarship, valued at $2,500, will be presented to a resident of Kerr County.

The Joe Moore Scholarship, valued at $1,000, is available to all STPGA Foundation Scholarship applicants. It is named for and was created by a San Antonio golfer whose history includes two San Antonio Amateur Championships and a role on a late-1940s NCAA Championship team at Louisiana State University. Moore, a member at San Antonio’s Woodlake Country Club, played on the PGA Tour for several years and later became the head golf professional at Lackland Air Force Base’s golf course. He retired in the 1980s.

A pair of George Hannon Scholarships, valued at $2,500 each, will be presented to students whose primary residence lies with the Austin area (Travis County and the counties contiguous to Travis County). The George Hannon Scholarships are named for the former University of Texas golf coach who served as the president of the Southern Texas PGA in 1972-73 and was twice honored as the STPGA Golf Professional of the Year. Hannon is a member of the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame.

Established last year, the Ross T. Collins Scholarship is valued at $2,500. It was created by the members of Kerrville’s Riverhill Country Club to honor Ross Collins, the 1972 PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year. Collins spent the last six years of his career as the head golf professional at Riverhill and retired in Kerrville. The Ross T. Collins Scholarship will be awarded to a resident of Kerr County.

The Ginny Termeer Scholarship was created in 2008 to honor the life and memory of the mother of Steve Termeer, the head golf professional at The University of Texas Golf Club in Austin. Mrs. Termeer was a chemistry teacher in Conroe for more than 20 years and was a dedicated golfer. She was a former president of the Women’s Golf Association at Walden on Lake Conroe Golf Club in Montgomery and a volunteer scorer at the Houston Open, the PGA Tour Championship and numerous other tournaments. The Ginny Termeer Scholarship, valued at $3,000, will be awarded to a junior golfer residing in Montgomery County or any contiguous county.

The Bill Sitton Sr. Scholarship, valued at $2,400 annually (for four years; a total of $9,600) and renewable for up to four years, is available to all STPGA Foundation scholarship applicants. It was created last year to "assist aspiring college-bound students with furthering their educations." Billy Sitton Jr., the managing director of Club Corp’s international office, said the scholarship honors "a hard-working guy who enjoyed golf and introduced me to it."